Choose the name of the Prime Minister who abolished `Privy Purse'.
Choose the name of the Prime Minister who abolished `Privy Purse'.
Options
Official answer
Correct option: (D) Indira Gandhi.
The Privy Purse — annual payments guaranteed to former rulers of princely states at the time of their merger with the Indian Union — was abolished through the 26th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1971, passed during the Prime Ministership of Indira Gandhi.
Marking scheme
- 1.1 mark: for correctly selecting option (D) Indira Gandhi with no other option accepted.
Hint
Recall the 26th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1971 and who was Prime Minister of India that year.
Quick oral answer
Indira Gandhi abolished the Privy Purse through the 26th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1971, ending the special payments and privileges enjoyed by former princely rulers.
Common mistakes
- 1.Confusing the abolition of privy purses (1971, Indira Gandhi) with the original integration of princely states (1947-49, Sardar Patel and V.P. Menon).
- 2.Selecting Morarji Desai because he is associated with dismantling other Congress-era policies, without checking the actual year of abolition.
Analysis and explanation
The abolition of the Privy Purse was a landmark step in removing the political and economic privileges that had survived from the era of princely rule.
Why (D) is correct
- Privy purses were promised to princes under the merger agreements as compensation for surrendering their ruling powers.
- By the late 1960s these payments were seen as inconsistent with the idea of equality in a democratic republic.
- Indira Gandhi's government abolished the privy purses through the 26th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1971, after an earlier Presidential Order route was struck down by the Supreme Court.
Why the other options are wrong
- Morarji Desai (A) became Prime Minister only in 1977, six years after privy purses had already been abolished.
- Lal Bahadur Shastri (B) was Prime Minister from 1964-66, before the abolition took place.
- Rajiv Gandhi (C) became Prime Minister in 1984, over a decade after the event.
Interesting facts
The Supreme Court had earlier struck down the government's attempt to abolish privy purses through a Presidential Order in 1970, forcing Parliament to pass the 26th Constitutional Amendment Act in 1971.
Before abolition, the largest privy purse was paid to the Maharaja of Mysore, amounting to lakhs of rupees annually, tax-free.
Question details
Q9 of 38 questions
- Board
- CBSE
- Class
- Class 12
- Subject
- Political Science
- Year
- 2026
- Section
- Section A
- Marks
- 1
- Type
- MCQ
- Chapter
- Challenges of Nation Building
- Topic
- Abolition of Privy Purse
- Bloom's level
- remember
- Syllabus topic
- Unit 1: Politics in India since Independence — Challenges of Nation Building: Integration of Princely States & Privy Purses
- Author
- CBSE
- Reviewed by
- Padhantu Academic Team
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Frequently asked questions
When was the Privy Purse abolished in India?
The Privy Purse was abolished in 1971 through the 26th Constitutional Amendment Act, passed during Indira Gandhi's tenure as Prime Minister.
Why were Privy Purses given to princes in the first place?
Privy purses were promised as part of the merger agreements when princely states acceded to India, compensating rulers for giving up their ruling powers and privileges.